Under The Midnight Sky
by Miheart Sundae
Summary: Chelsea and Will planned to spend Starry Night Festival together, but he doesn't show up and she ends up passing out outside! When she awakes, two of her close guy friends are there to comfort her and she watches the stars with them instead.


_**/ From the Author /**_

So, I wanted to write _something_ for Christmas as celebration that's... um, Christmasy? I initially wanted to stay in the original category I post in for my normal readers, but for those following me... I hope you can find something to enjoy in this! I love Harvest Moon so much and enjoy playing this game in particular. I hope new people can enjoy this as well. X3

I'm a big Denny x Chelsea and Chelsea x Will fan (though in the games I tend to lean more towards Will... he's just too charming! Lol), so in this, there might be hints. Oh and I could just see Denny and Vaughn being friends. They hung out in similar areas sometimes and still have an event together.

I don't own Harvest Moon or any of the characters. I own the event, but that's it. And this will probably be a one shot! Merry Christmas and happy holidays! Here we go...

_**/ Start /**_

**Under The Midnight Sky**

**Part 1**

Winter-time was normally a peaceful, lying-around-all-day time of the year. Today was not that case; the work was longer than usual. Snow flakes fluttered down, clouding the forest tops with white as she ran back and forth between her house and the chicken coop. Chelsea found herself tending to her sick animals. Not only her dog, Ripples, required time since he wanted extra attention today, but also a good number of her chickens had fallen ill because of her own forgetfulness. She had to make sure they were all comfortable before she left anywhere. That left her finishing time at noon when she could finally run out of the ranch and to Chen's store.

It was a few days before the Starry Night Festival, and she wanted to decorate before hand. The lights and tree were, surprisingly, in stock, though Chelsea had requested for him to set aside some for her. She hadn't the money to afford them until today.

After Chelsea took home the items, she first decorated the outside, and then worked on the inside. The tree she purchased was small and fit next to her bed perfectly. She frowned, standing back. _That looks weird, _she thought, staring around the room, _doesn't it? Where should I put the tree?_

After the tree was placed elsewhere (lamely in the corner by the kitchen), an hour had passed. Chelsea stared up at the clock with a start before bolting out, checking for a moment how messy she looked in the mirror. Her light brown hair and clothing weren't too bad, but there were dark circles around her wide blue eyes. There was little she could do about that. Deeming it too much of a hassle to bother with at the moment, she ran for the boat, hoping to get to the meadow before the sun was setting.

- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – -

"Will!" Chelsea shouted as she jumped out of the boat (almost flipping it over. Poor Kirk) and nearly bolted across the meadow and over to him. She knew him well enough to know he loved the meadow; he had mentioned it at the last festival he attended. He grinned as her approach slowed to a walk, that all-too-adorable grin that made Chelsea's knees feel weak. She went on, "I was looking for you."

"Good afternoon," he greeted, adding in thought, "what do you need me for, fair maiden?" Chelsea blushed darkly, looking down and playing with her orange jacket.

"What... are you doing for the Starry Night Festival?" she asked, peeking up momentarily. Will seemed baffled, but then responded.

"Not sure," he murmured in thought, "I'm pretty sure nothing." She felt the hope rise and she looked him in the eyes.

"Would you want to watch the stars together?" Chelsea asked, her voice wavering a lot more than the countless times she had practiced the line at home. She almost tore her gaze away again, but he grinned.

"Of course I would like to watch the stars with a flower such as yourself," his response was smooth and confident; it made her feel at ease in a way.

"Meet me at my place by 6 p.m.!" Chelsea said while backing for the boat, but not turning. "I may have something cooked up!" She did her best sultry voice, though it wasn't impressive at all. It sounded just like friendly conversation. She ducked her head as she turned and ran off, not being able to help the grin. It may have been embarrassing, but it was a blissful embarrassment. Kirk raised an eyebrow as she nearly fell into the boat.

Chelsea was extremely ecstatic he said yes, but she had no idea what cooked meals he liked. It was Will, so probably not anything with fish. _Well, he might,_ she thought, spacing out on the boat ride, _fish isn't bad. _Getting off the boat, she thanked Kirk before leaving deep in thought. Her eyes caught the glance of a certain purple clad fisherman she was close friends with. She grinned to herself. Denny might know.

- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – -

The next day, Chelsea worked on making dishes Denny had suggested. Vaughn had been there and suggested items as well, but she quickly noticed it was mostly stuff he liked. In all fairness, Vaughn didn't know who exactly she was aiming for so his suggestions may not be as helpful, but Denny's was good enough for both of them. She mixed in the rice for the porridge, making a helping to set aside for her favorite cowboy. He hadn't said anything, but she figured he missed getting daily gifts whenever he visited the island. Her budget was tight, so she had to save most of the ingredients for fishing and mining; they're both important during the winter. Well, they just gave her something to do.

Leaning over to the other burner, Chelsea placed another pan to make natto in. Denny had suggested the soybean dish, mentioning whenever he went to the Cafe or Diner, he tended to lean more towards the soybean dishes. It made her laugh how observant the fisherman was, but she wasn't too surprised. Denny was smart. Vaughn most definitely thought Denny was speaking for himself, though; he gave him a look that screamed, "you eat that?" Denny hadn't noticed.

In case he enjoyed sweets, Chelsea made some dessert dishes. She made cookies and ice cream, also, cake. Gotta have cake. She giggled, realizing Will probably didn't have as much of a sweet tooth as her. Regardless, he probably would like one or the other. For drinks, she made orange, grape, and apple juice along with putting aside milk. She figured if he didn't like it, he could always have water.

Chelsea let out an exhausted sigh, staring at everything she made before placing it in the fridge. Glancing at the time, she quickly noted it was well passed 6 in the evening. _And he isn't here yet..._ she thought nervously, frowning. Looking at the time on the old-styled, analogue clock above her bed, she felt it'd be fair to give him five or ten minutes more before jumping to conclusions. He probably just had something to do that took him longer than he thought. Maybe he was just outside her ranch.

Walking out of her home and closing the door behind her, she turned to look around. No sign of him. She let out a disheartened sigh before going to let her puppy run around the yard. Ripples had been sitting around in his barn all day. He deserved to get out every once in a while and the weather was nice as well. The stars most definitely could be seen. The horse was too fast for her to catch, though. Chelsea wasn't letting her out.

With lack of anything better to do, Chelsea decided to wait for Will to come, sitting down in the pathway leading to her house. The sand-like dirt was gentle against her knees; it felt soft. She tried peaking around the trees that surrounding her farm, hoping to spot her blond-haired crush. She was beginning to get very hungry and hoped he would come soon. It soon dawned on her, though.

An hour had passed; Will most likely wasn't coming. Chelsea went to stand up. _That's fine, _she thought to herself, trying to find the hopeful things in this situation. She couldn't think of anything. She kind of understood, though. He was rich; he wouldn't want to sit down to an average cook like herself. That only made her feel worse.

Rounding around the corner, Ripples ran up to Chelsea and pawned at her thigh. She let out a sigh, reaching to pet his head. She felt dizzy. Beginning to walk, she tripped over her feet and fell forward to the sand-like dirt of her pathway. It didn't hurt, but she just didn't feel like moving.

Ripples pounced at her face, licking at her cheek. Anything after that was lost to the darkness as Chelsea fell asleep. She could vaguely hear barking, though, and eventually her head stopped pounding. She felt something soft and warm. When her eyes fluttered open, she could smell something, as well. It smelled delicious.

Sitting up, Chelsea stared around. Surely enough, she was lying in _her_ bed at _her_ house. She wasn't entirely sure how she got back inside until she turned to the kitchen where the two boys were talking over something in a whisper. Denny was making cooked fish and Vaughn was heating some milk. Seemingly feeling her gaze, Denny turned to the brunette.

"Chels, you're up," he said, approaching, "are you all right?" She nodded dumbly, feeling lost. Why wouldn't she be?

"We found you in front of your house," Vaughn explained in a slightly annoyed voice, leaning against the wall next to her kitchen and crossing his arms, "a lady shouldn't sleep outside."

"No one should," Denny said with a sigh. Staring around the room, she quickly spotted Ruffles sleeping on her rug soundly. How'd he get inside? She didn't normally let him sleep in the house unless there was a bad storm. The boys must have let him in.

"So, how did you guys... um, find me? Did you need something?" Denny smiled a bit at that.

"We're here to help _you_, Chelsea," he responded, bringing her a plate of fish and the milk they just cooked, "you look too pale. It's scary." At that, she realized both appeared very anxious, though Vaughn did a much better job at hiding it than Denny.

"Thank you," she said, taking the dish onto her lap and sitting up. She couldn't help frowning while eating, saying, "I really wanted to watch the stars..."

"We can still go," Denny said all too eagerly. Did he think she was shaken? He must have thought she was upset. He added awkwardly, "I know we probably weren't your first choice, but..." Chelsea shook her head.

"No...! Of course I would want to watch the stars with such good friends. Thank you so much Denny... Vaughn," was her response as she stood to her feet and lead them out, leading them back to her giant field. With wide-eyed realization, she spotted a chicken that had been left out. Chelsea ran to go grab it.

- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – -

When the chicken had been placed away with medicine, Chelsea retreated back to her two close friends. The fisherman was lying in the snow, staring up at the sky and the cowboy was sitting up relatively straight. He turned to her as she approached and Denny sat up, turning as well.

Chelsea couldn't help feeling glad that her two friends weren't prying. If it had been Lanna or Julia, they would most definitely be asking. She was thankful it had been the guys. Sitting cozily in between them, she shivered slightly. Last Winter had been far too frigid; she used that as an excuse to justify buying a bunch of warmer clothing for Winter-time. It was still cold, though, regardless of changing into the sweat pants and jacket (respectively, back and orange).

"I can see shapes in the stars," Denny mused, taking her mind off of the freezing wind, "one looks sort looks like a bunny rabbit." Chelsea giggled, scooting closer to him.

"Where? I don't see it," her eyes roamed the sky until she finally found a pattern that appeared like a dog to her, "I see a pattern of a dog." Denny nodded.

"The bunny's more left," he informed her before she turned to the other boy.

"Do you see any patterns, Vaughn?" Chelsea asked.

"I'm not interested in stars," he responded shortly before covering his face with his hat. She frowned, turning to Denny in confusion. When he shrugged, she went into thought. _He must have came to cheer me up, then, _Chelsea thought with a small grin, _what great friends I have..._

"I'm so glad I have friends like you two," Chelsea said in nearly a whisper, smiling and closing her eyes. Denny hugged her briefly, chuckling.

"Happy Starry Night Festival," he responded.


End file.
